The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-10-26
FOLLOWING Up 4 CLUE
uuRAyELIRa THE THREADS OF A CREE.
rron the French OF jog ph Montet.

On tllt ClttJ NIjGtl MIC lIit nv SlAN
ing and that life was slowly leaving hed,
just as the oil III her china lamp e:ertfy sank
on a winters night Mile. AglaG put her
skinny hands upon the head OF her pGg
Mirze and shed copiOua tears, after which,
turning to her faithful servant, terCrutte'
she said in weak, sad voice:
II am leaving you all my fortune, Ger
trude, but ON condition that when l am
gone you Will take the same care CT Mr&a
as have done. The poor creature viii need
eli your affection TO console her for my loss.
Swear to me that death alone Will separate
you from herw
Gertrude swore on all that She held most
dear, that is upon the remains Of her parrot
IGocadie, which she had sadly seen depart
this life from the effects Of n too rash lndHi-
eence in parsley, and which the sklll OF q
taxiderInist had enabled her to preserve,
mon gllded perch, with widespread WINGS
in the ecstatic attitude Of q parrot Wlnglns
It's fight to a better world.
Mile. AgIaG died peacefully after this, for
she well knew that the pledge would be ga
oredly kept. Her confidence WAS not ms
placed as Gertrude was O woman Of her
word. and the whole town OF Brlqueyllie was
edilie1 by the conscientious zeal she dlS-
played in carrying ont her mistress last
wishes. Never had quadruped been the
object Of more delicate attention, nor of more
unremiyting Kindness, than was this pre-
cioug pug of Mile. Aglae. Not only did it
have, ut all times, on its plate, food that
would have satisfied nine out OF every ten
bnman beings, but it was watched over
md petted to such an extent that no child
l,,, nv Iuta r.
wardrobe consisted of about twenty coats.
Jackets and dresses, the making and fitting
of winch were TO Gertrude labor OF love
She had prepared clothes for the animal SUIT
able to al kinds of weather, and IN dressing
the creature she guided herself closely by tile
indications of tho thermometer hanging upon
the window-frame.
The consequences of this kind OF living
were not long in coming. At the end OF q
wear Mira died from the effects Of a plethora
of health.
Great and sincere was Gertrndes grief.
She broke the set Of her finest dozen OF
towels to shrOud the icy remains OF her
friend Then, rs she reflected that she did
not knew what to do with the dead animal,
she became prey to the most poignant all
guIsh.
In truth, ahe WIS at a loss as TO what to Go.
Bury the remains in the garden! No, she
cOuldn0t muster up the courage to do that;
the proximity of the grave would have al
ficted her with an incurable melancholy.
Where then would she pnt the pet7 In the
depth of her despair an inspiration flashed,
Ii zhtning-like through her mind; the kind
Monsieur Gregoire, the beadie OF Saint Ur-
,I,go ,-nIrll osligt her n tUls her
hour of sorrow He was 80 good, SO oblig-
ing Without moments delay she dis
patched o lad. her neighbours son, with q
message. begging him TO come to see her I'M
mediataly. Half an hour later Mr.. Gre
goire arrived.
=. He found the unfortunate Gertrude in the
parlor, the blinds of which were closed, and
which, by four lighted tapers, was trans
formed into kind Gf lnortuary chapel. She
was seated upon Il lounge, where, wrapped Ill
its white towel rs ii in winding sheet, the
pug lay stretched ont ON its back. Some
what moved by the sight, Monsieur Gregoire
dotted his hat.
He was about to cross himself, when, with
. O sign. Mile. Gertrude stopped him. In q
few words, intermmgled with sobs, she re-
lated her troubles and explained what she ex-
pected of him.
Especially" concluded she, II wish You
to bury the body far from here, and to keep
me in ignorance of the spot for ii | knew
where to ind the grave l would go every day
and wear my eyes out i'll weeping over it.n
Monsieur Gr6goire promised all that was
asked.
Il viii come this evening, " said he, after
dark, tc take away the body. As you know,
people are SO funny! Seeing me would be
enough to set them gossiping."
Ae returned, as he had promised, at 8
O'Clock. A long cloak hung from his shoul-
ders to his heels. Gertrude uttered cry and
clasped l,er hands together, when he drew
from under the mantle an oblong poplar box
of the same shape and size Us violin case.
"A coffin! A real coffin 49,. oh, Mon
siour Gscgoire, You are really too kind"
For one's friends" replied the beadle.
with his most unctuous smile, lone can't do
too much. Besides, you know the proverb, >
added he, as he pointed to the rigid body
The friends Of our friends are our friends =
Half an hour later, Monsieur Gregoire
went of with step Of becoming gravity.
bearing under his arm the mcurnful burden
coHfded to his pious cure.
-.
And ycu say you found it in field neal
the hospitai?"
'.Near the military hospital; yes, CORPORAL
In clearing mp tie tield!'
III clearing it up"
with your plow?" .l,a
with my plow"
That's pecuharm 4a.
Corporal poileau stopped writing 10 scratcl
his nose wlth 5he point of his pencil.
Itis very pe-cu-h Lar" repeated ne, draw
ing the word ont to its full length. Il shall
rcfor the matter to my ranking oflicerr;
And tbe corporal referred the MA tier to hi
ensign, " no advised ms lieutenant. The lat
ter Informed his captain who notified tn,
Colonel so tifat half aii hour later, all thu
gendamaer3e of Briqueyiile WINS Oh foot
"Caitain, =" SAID tie Colonel you mus
go to the public prosecutor and Inform hin
OF what rs going on ,''
Very sei, ColoDelin
THE apsan started of, left foot foremost,
closely followed by our friend the corporal
Nho AZ Che way kept muttering to himself
Decidedly this is very pec,iliar easel"
sn horJr later. n detachment Of police WI
stationed 1T distance of about one hundred
metres fr5m the military hospital, at the to-
Of the III from which may be seen the who'll
OF Br1queNile with its short, straight streets
and. ut n distance, tie harbor with Its fores
OF masts surrounding countless fishing
b0Rts.
Near tiie detachment. the Colonel and tn
Prosecutor were comforting together, while
ut /. respectful distance. the laborer, the frs
cause Of all tkis eGoticn, stood twirling hi
greasy hat, awaiting to be questioned.
All at ence the attorney turned to him.
$50, " asked be- you say that until MOI
this field has not been cultivated
why, yes, and The best proof is that
was hired TO break the ground
$50 that a criminal might have come her
and have buried the proof OF his crime with
firm hope that it would never be discov
o.